


Hero

by Idonquixote



Category: Xi You Ji | Journey to the West - Wu Cheng'en
Genre: Drabble, Experimental Style, Gen, Light Angst, One Shot, One-Sided Attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:14:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23979556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idonquixote/pseuds/Idonquixote
Summary: Eldest Brother was a hero. Always had been. Always will be.
Relationships: Zhu Bajie/Sun Wukong, 豬猴
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Something I whipped up to get out of writer's block! Am definitely going to update "Rain" in the near future, but wanted to do something for motivation. Don't think I've written for this pairing yet so here it is (in a different style)!

Eldest Brother was a hero. Always had been. Always will be. There was no one in the three realms that didn't know his name. Sun (like ape- remove the "beast" and it's Sun like every other man named Sun). Wu. Kong. Awake to emptiness. Eldest brother, Pilgrim Sun. He was never empty. There was always something on his shoulders- his as-you-would staff. The weight of Five Finger Mountain. Master's cassock. Something ancient and sad- and always pained- under his ugly laughs.

But that was how heroes were.

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven had been a villain once. He had been wild and fowl and so wicked that he brought heaven to its knees. And even then, those little demons cheered him on. The Handsome Monkey King! Though he was quite homely. The makeup made it worse, made his eyes brighter and his fangs sharp. A most terrible sight. But he fought and he fought. The Great Sage would always fight until he couldn't.

He was nothing like his junior brother- like the second disciple. He didn't have time for cowards, didn't have time to listen to petty gossip, didn't have time to say more than, "Idiot!" when he was particularly bristled. And he was nothing like Lady Gao (he donned her face once though, batted his coy lashes and wrapped himself in her silk dress, all so he could make a fool of her spouse). He was a flame the size of a candle's wick, a flame that could burn mountains to the ground. You could not keep him in a lantern, could not latch him to the wall and expect that fire to stay. It was not something you could save. 

Mortals shot firecrackers into the sky, pops of red against black. Eldest Brother was the flame and pop all at once. And you had no choice but to stay back and watch him burn, watch him fly. 

But that was fine. Zhu Wuneng was content watching him from behind. He always had been. And he always would be. 

Because Tianpeng- Bajie- Wuneng was no hero. And he knew Eldest Brother had no reason to look back. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and feel free to kudos/comment!
> 
> Hope this little drabble was fun! I missed writing for the pilgrims.


End file.
